Part One: Departing from the Guidelines
The completion of high school does not necessarily translate
into a termination of child support obligations. When adult
children make the decision to attend post-secondary schooling, the
payor spouse's child support obligation may continue,
recommence or cease to exist altogether. While the application of
family law principles is very fact driven, there are common trends
in the jurisprudence that can allow for some predictability and for
the identification of potential exceptions.
Pursuant to the Divorce Act, RSC 1985, c 3, a child of
the marriage, in other words a child entitled to support, is either
a child younger than 18 years old who has not withdrawn from the
charge of their parents, or a child who is 18 years old or older
and is unable to withdraw from the charge of their parents by
reason of illness, disability or other cause. The main difference
is that the adult child must have a reason for being
unable to withdraw
